when the world is almost perfect
by shel-belle
Summary: AU. Jack is the stranger who skates barefoot on the little pond close to home. Jamie is the little boy who likes cookies and is much too friendly for his own good.


**Disclaimer: I don't own_ Rise of the Guardians_ or any of the characters.**

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"Who are you?" whispers the boy, staring wide-eyed at the stranger skating barefoot on the little pond close to home. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers, but if I know your name, then we can be friends."

The other boy ignores him but slows his pace to watch the child out of the corner of his eye. He's small and bundled up tightly in mismatched colors to protect from the cold. Seven, if Jack wanted to guess. No threat. He keeps on skating but never leaves his back turned for too long.

The boy is shuffling his boots uncomfortably and he suddenly looks up, beanie slipping over his brown eyes. "Oh. Right. I forgot to introduce myself." He clears his throat and stands a little taller. "Hi. My name is Jamie Bennett and I am eight years old. My favorite color is blue and I have a green toy dinosaur. I like cookies. Now tell me about you."

Jamie sticks his hands into his pocket and pulls out a handful of assorted items. He pulls out an unwrapped lollipop with some difficulty and makes a face, dropping it on the ground instantly. He looks up at Jack guiltily and mumbles out: "I know, I know, littering is bad, but some animal might want to eat that. It's mango flavored and it's just stuck to a few...harmless stuff." He subtly toes the dead fly away and wipes his boot on a rock. "I thought I had cookies. Oreos. I know I didn't eat them all..." Jamie sighs and sits down, crisscross applesauce, at the edge of the ice.

Jack stops skating and sits too, on a fallen tree branch just big enough to hold his weight. It creaks a little though. He's facing Jamie, but far away enough to run if he tries to come after him. Jamie must have parents and as a runaway orphan, adults are Jack's enemies.

"So what's your name?" Jamie prompts, after watching the other boy stare at him with unblinking wary blue eyes for maybe a minute. It's beginning to creep him out, honestly, and he still does want to know his name. "Are you deaf?" Jamie blurts out and regrets it when he flinches, scooting away from him. "Sorry. I was just wondering why you weren't answering me."

Jack takes in a shaky breath and replies in a voice so soft that Jamie can't hear. He stands and the fear promptly makes Jack raise his voice to prevent the child from coming any closer. "Jack. My name is Jack."

Jamie smiles. "Hi, Jack. What's your last name? And your favorite color and toy - oh, and do you like cookies? How old are you? Will you be my friend?"

Jack hesitates. Jamie is just a child but all children have parents. He has to lie. Jack sticks his hands in his hoodie pocket, crossing his fingers. He looks around for inspiration. "Frost. Jack Frost. My favorite color is blue and I had a stuffed bear. Yes, I do like cookies, sugar cookies are my favorite and I'm...eighteen." He hopes Jamie doesn't catch the last lie; he's small for his age and being skinny doesn't help either. He just turned seventeen a few weeks ago but he looks around fourteen.

Jamie immediately notices how he skipped his last question. "Oh. It's okay if you don't wanna be friends. We can still talk and do other stuff..." His voice trails off sadly but then he remembers something else. "Oh, hey, I read about you! You're the guy who makes snow! Old Man Winter! Are you, like, secretly a thousand years old?" Jamie squeaks and lowers his voice. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to give away your secret."

Jack feels guilty about the friend thing but he isn't going to be sticking around long anyway. He just wanted to say goodbye to the forest before leaving for good. Then his brain catches up to what the boy just said. "Um. What?"

Jamie bounces on his feet and almost falls on the ice. He blushes a little but still gives Jack a beaming smile. "Yeah! You even have snowy white hair! And, whoa, is that your staff?"

Jack is taken aback by his enthusiasm and his brain really isn't feeling up to much. "Um. What?"

"Your staff! Can I touch it? Will it freeze me? Oh, this is so cool!"

Jack barely has time to blink and suddenly Jamie is yanking the branch out from underneath him. It snaps in half and Jamie is dismayed.

"Sorrysorrysorry! It was an accident. I didn't mean t-to _break_ it!"

Jack feels compelled to comfort him but is at a loss at what to say. Pippa would just need a smile and a hug and a whisper of _everything is going to be okay_. He misses her. He misses her a lot. He's blinking back tears and can't help thinking that if his sister were here, she'd be doing something ridiculous to distract him and then she'd tickle him until he'd laugh and then she'd hug him real tight and promise that if he just took a nap then the world would be perfect again once he woke up. Not true. It's been months since the world was perfect, regardless of how many times he slept.

"You're not supposed to cry too," Jamie sniffles, wrapping his arms around Jack's waist for a hug.

"I'm not," Jack lies right away, pasting on a huge smile he really doesn't feel.

"Good." And just like that, Jamie's tears are gone. "You're a legend. Legends aren't allowed to cry."

"What?" Jack asks again, feeling kind of stupid.

"You're Jack Frost." Jamie is looking at him like he thinks he's kind of stupid too.

"Yeah. Just not your Jack Frost. Not the legend. I'm just Jack Frost, a normal person." Jack feels awkward and kind of like he's telling a kindergartner that Santa Claus isn't real.

"Oh," Jamie whispers, blushing to the roots of his hair. "Then that's a stick. And that's just hair. And you're not super old anymore."

"Yeah." Jack shuffles his feet and tries to wiggle his toes. No such luck. Totally numb. But who wants to steal stinky used shoes?

"Here." Jamie hands his too-long scarf to the older boy's slightly blue-tinged hands. When Jack begins to refuse, Jamie quickly adds: "It's red. I don't like red and it has a snowman on it. With a carrot nose!" To Jack's raised eyebrow, he explains, "I hate carrots. Just, _ew_." He shudders for effect.

Jack smiles and thanks him softly, the tip of his ears fire-engine red.

Jamie returns his smile and then hesitates. "So, friends?"

Even though he knows better, Jack nods. "Friends."


End file.
